Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 3:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 3:27 p.m.

Thanks to two Wilmington companies, you now can turn your iPad into a foosball table.

New Potato Technologies has developed the application, and Sturdy Corp. builds the table.

And though soccer may be foreign to some, New Potato’s “Classic Match Foosball for iPad” is all-American.

The app was developed and marketed here. The table is manufactured in Wilmington.

The packaging comes from Stephen Gould Corp. in Morrisville, near Raleigh; the shipping boxes come from Wilmington Box Co.; and the instructions are done by Alpha Graphics in Wilmington, said New Potato CEO Stuart Ross.

“Sturdy is handling the assembly,” Ross said. “Design of the package, software and mechanical engineering is done by New Potato in Wilmington.”

New potato, in Murrayville Station, designs and develops software and hardware primarily for iPhone and iPad accessories.

Ross founded the company in Connecticut in 1986 and came to Wilmington in the early 1990s.

Classic Match Foosball isn’t a computer game in the traditional sense. Ross pointed out that there already are software-only foosball games out there.

But New Potato’s product is not a point-and-click pursuit. Neither do you guide the players on screen with your fingers. Rather, the table, which itself contains software, plugs into the iPad and includes eight two-axis control bars similar to what you might see on your neighborhood bar version.

You can download the foosball app for free from the iTunes store. The table retails for $99.99 and is available now through New Potato’s website, newpotatotech.com, and will be soon from select retailers, Ross said.

The first foosball product has already been shipped and will be launched in Apple stores in December, Ross said.

New Potato says that among its product’s features are 3D instant replays – similar to what you see on television – realistic game and crowd sounds, tournament foosball rules, and “the satisfying ‘clunk’ of the players ‘hitting the ball,’ and the resounding ‘thunk’ of scoring a goal.”

“We’ll be coming out (with an app) that let’s you customize the men, change the tables and even some of the rules for foosball,” Ross said.

Sturdy, which is a provider of mechanical, electrical, electronic and software products, makes the table at its 140,000-square-foot facility at 1822 Carolina Beach Road. The table cradles the iPad and also acts as a charge and sync dock.

The product could have been made cheaper by going to China, Ross said.

“We’ve put ourselves on a limb to do it here,” he said. “It was the right thing to do, not the most profitable thing to do.

“At a time when there should be a greater drive to do things at home, we are trying to lead by example.”

<p>Thanks to two Wilmington companies, you now can turn your iPad into a foosball table.</p><p>New Potato Technologies has developed the application, and Sturdy Corp. builds the table. </p><p>And though soccer may be foreign to some, New Potato's “Classic Match Foosball for iPad” is all-American. </p><p>The app was developed and marketed here. The table is manufactured in Wilmington. </p><p>The packaging comes from Stephen Gould Corp. in Morrisville, near Raleigh; the shipping boxes come from Wilmington Box Co.; and the instructions are done by Alpha Graphics in Wilmington, said New Potato CEO Stuart Ross.</p><p>“Sturdy is handling the assembly,” Ross said. “Design of the package, software and mechanical engineering is done by New Potato in Wilmington.” </p><p>New potato, in Murrayville Station, designs and develops software and hardware primarily for iPhone and iPad accessories.</p><p>Ross founded the company in Connecticut in 1986 and came to Wilmington in the early 1990s.</p><p>Classic Match Foosball isn't a computer game in the traditional sense. Ross pointed out that there already are software-only foosball games out there. </p><p>But New Potato's product is not a point-and-click pursuit. Neither do you guide the players on screen with your fingers. Rather, the table, which itself contains software, plugs into the iPad and includes eight two-axis control bars similar to what you might see on your neighborhood bar version.</p><p>You can download the foosball app for free from the iTunes store. The table retails for $99.99 and is available now through New Potato's website, newpotatotech.com, and will be soon from select retailers, Ross said.</p><p>The first foosball product has already been shipped and will be launched in Apple stores in December, Ross said. </p><p>New Potato says that among its product's features are 3D instant replays – similar to what you see on television – realistic game and crowd sounds, tournament foosball rules, and “the satisfying 'clunk' of the players 'hitting the ball,' and the resounding 'thunk' of scoring a goal.”</p><p>“We'll be coming out (with an app) that let's you customize the men, change the tables and even some of the rules for foosball,” Ross said.</p><p>Sturdy, which is a provider of mechanical, electrical, electronic and software products, makes the table at its 140,000-square-foot facility at 1822 Carolina Beach Road. The table cradles the iPad and also acts as a charge and sync dock.</p><p>The product could have been made cheaper by going to China, Ross said.</p><p>“We've put ourselves on a limb to do it here,” he said. “It was the right thing to do, not the most profitable thing to do.</p><p>“At a time when there should be a greater drive to do things at home, we are trying to lead by example.”</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic99"><b>Wayne Faulkner</b></a>: 343-2329</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @bizniznews</p>